On August 4, 2009, Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. made an inspiring announcement about a new effort to revitalize the Highway 80 corridor.  This new initiative involved the development of an Economic Development Strategy for the once bustling corridor.  The U.S. Economic Development Administration is providing a $400,000 grant for this initiative and the City of Jackson is contributing $100,000.  The effort is well underway with the assistance of team members such as the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District (CMPDD), JBHM Architects, Quicksilver Creative, and SOL Engineering Services, LLC.

The initiative, now referred to as go80, has convened community meetings and has collected 101 surveys in order to get feedback from members of the business and residential communities.  The “go80 Greenlight” is published monthly to update Jacksonians of the progress of go80.

There is definitely a need for greater varieties of restaurants, retail, services and, most important, jobs in West Jackson. Hopefully the end product of this initiative will show entrepreneurs the door to the opportunities that abound here in West Jackson.

For more information about this project, visit go80’s website:

http://www.jacksonms.gov/home/hwy80/index.html